Transparent dressings are widely used as a protective layer over wounds and catheterization sites.
Oftentimes, adhesive strips are used in conjunction with transparent dressings to provide closure for wound sites or to secure catheter tubes, etc. Adhesive strips of this type are commercially available, for example, from 3M as Steri-Strip.TM. adhesive strips. Other such tapes include foam tapes, Micropore.TM. tape, Transpore.TM. tape and a whole host of assorted medical tapes. Because these products are used together so often, it would be desirable to find an efficient dispensing system to provide both products in a rapid and efficient manner.
A transparent dressing currently available on the market is the Op-Site.TM. I.V. 3000 dressing. This transparent dressing is adhered to a release liner, and has removal tabs provided along the entire length of opposite ends of the dressing to allow easy removal from the liner. The removal tabs themselves are removed from the dressing either by peeling away from the transparent film, or by tearing the film along the edge corresponding to the removal tabs. When the film is torn in this way, a strip of adhesive coated film about 1 cm. wide remains that is releasably adhered to the removal tab. This adhesive-coated film strip does not have a tab means or an intentionally provided overhanging edge to afford easy removal from the removal tab. The adhesive-coated strip may be peeled off of the removal tab for use as a separate adhesive strip.
Con Med.TM. Inc. provides a product for securing catheters called the Venigard Jr..TM.. This product comprises a transparent membrane having a foam border. Accessory foam strips for further securing of the catheter are releasably adhered to the same side of a single liner sheet as the membrane. No tab means are provided to assist in removal of the accessory foam strips from the liner.
Bioclusive.TM., the Johnson & Johnson transparent dressing product, utilizes a three-part liner delivery system as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,183 to McCracken. The central liner piece of the commercial embodiment of this dressing bears a "piggy-back" style adhesive label for recording patient information on the opposite side of the release liner from the transparent film. This label does not have a tab means to assist in removal from the liner.